Read Riding Danger (BBW Biker Romance) Online

Authors: Adriana Hunter

Tags: #biker romance, #bbw romance, #bad boy romance, #alpha romance, #adriana hunter, #Alpha Male, #new adult romance, #new adult biker romance, #bbw biker romance

Riding Danger (BBW Biker Romance) (7 page)

BOOK: Riding Danger (BBW Biker Romance)
6.14Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads
Chapter Eleven

“I
just got off the phone with the ATF,” Sergeant Tomas Alvarez stood outside Lieutenant Dian Hargrove’s office, looking anxious. She raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow in anticipation of his announcement. “Those guys got a call from Dawson a couple of hours ago. He’s offering information on a bust, and they’re offering to cooperate if they can use our resources to bring in whoever he implicates.”

Hargrove was out of her seat in a flash. “When are we supposed to meet this guy?”

“That’s the problem. They don’t know where he is. They’ve been following the motorcycle clubs but haven’t caught wind of him anywhere. It looks like he went underground. I would imagine he’s got a contract out on him, especially if he’s getting ready to rat out his guys. I wouldn’t blame him for burying himself. But they’re planning to get back on the phone with him and set something up. We’ll be invited.” Alvarez wanted something more solid, but he wasn’t going to complain. It was difficult to get the Feds to offer any kind of respect or cooperation in something like this, so he’d take what they could get.

With a sigh, Hargrove sat on the corner of her desk and crossed her arms. “I want to meet with these agents right away. I want to know exactly what it is they’re looking for and who they’re hunting. If they have a specific agenda, that’s fantastic and they can have their jurisdiction, but we still have a right to throw the book at anyone small-time who gets caught in the net. I want to know how wide that net will be cast.”

“You got it, boss. I’ll give Morris a call back in about 30 minutes. I’m going to wait long enough that he has a chance to try to get in touch with Jace Dawson.” He headed back toward his desk, feeling satisfied that he’d managed to pull this together. At the same time, he felt a bit guilty about not giving his partner all the details. He’d learned a great deal about this gun-running operation the ATF wanted to take down, and he was more than willing to help the Feds do it. The more he could assist, the more likely he’d find himself a place out at Quantico. But that wasn’t the only reason he hadn’t shared the information with Hargrove.

His partner had a tendency to jump first and ask questions later, and if she knew the extent of the operation they were after, she’d try to work this out on her own and get the glory for the department. That wasn’t the way this needed to go down. The Dallas PD may have significant resources, but they didn’t have the same power, authority, and guns that the ATF did. It meant people in the department could get hurt or killed, whereas if they cooperated with the federal agents, they would get the use of all the cool toys those guys had at their disposal. Not only would it be more fun; it would be safer and much more professional.

For his part, Alvarez did have one other lead he wanted to follow up, but he wasn’t going to share that idea with anyone. If he could find Jace Dawson, he’d be the golden boy and none of them would have to wait for Jace to set his own terms. Picking up the phone on his desk, he called Parkland Hospital. It was time to see if a certain nurse was on duty.

* * *

J
ames sat around a back table at Stroker’s with Donnie, Butch, and Rafe, trying to talk quietly without being drowned out by the noise in the bar. “When is this next pick-up supposed to happen?”

Donnie gritted his teeth. “I can’t get the details, but up to now it’s been about every two to three weeks. I would guess it’s coming up pretty fast, probably sometime next week. I don’t know who’s supposed to be meeting the middleman, but I have a feeling Alec’s going to be on top of it himself. That’s going to make it difficult to break the deal.”

Donnie ran his fingers through his hair, glancing around nervously. “I should get in touch with Jace, see if he can help us out. He’s desperate to stop this whole thing. Ever since the first big transfer, he’s been looking for a way out. It’s what got him in this whole mess to begin with.”

“Man, if I had a hit out on me, I wouldn’t show my face anywhere.” Rafe shook his head and grumbled at the situation. “I don’t think he’ll come out of hiding until something happens to take Alec down.”

“Guess who I saw today.” All four heads turned as Ron approached, looking cocky. Rafe kicked Donnie under the table, stepping on his toe and making him grunt. As if he’d been invited, Ron pulled a chair up to their table, setting a beer on it as he lit a cigarette. “I ran into Jace last night. I have to say, I think this whole getting shot at thing is a bunch of bullshit. He looked great, was with some woman he said was his sister, but I don’t think he has a sister. I think she’s his old lady and for some reason he wants to keep it on the down-low.”

Donnie froze, warning bells going off in his head. Ron had been spending a lot of time with Alec over the past few days, and everyone could tell he had his eye on the vice president position. With Alec leveling a death warrant on Jace, the last thing they needed was for Ron to hunt him down before they had any kind of plan in place. Hoping he could throw Ron off, Donnie shrugged, “I’ve met his sister before. They’re pretty close.”

Chuckling, Ron replied, “I would say they were damned cozy. But that’s not the point I came over here to make. If Jace’s alright, I see no reason we can’t get together with him and see what he knows so we can shut this whole operation down. It’s getting a little too dangerous, and Alec’s temperature is dangerously explosive. I think he’s just going to step it up even more.”

Rafe narrowed his eyes at Ron. “What the hell makes you think we want to stop it? I mean, we’re raking in the cash, and I’ve gotten my hands on a nice piece. And if we grow the operation, we’ll claim more territory, shutting the Banditos out.”

“Oh come on. I know that if I’m getting screwed on how much I get out of each deal, then you guys definitely are as well. And I know some of you have kids, families, and I’m willing to bet you’d rather spend more time with them when you aren’t worried you’ll get caught by the law or killed by the rival gangs. Trust me, the old lady is constantly on my back about my share.”

Something about his demeanor still resonated wrong with James, and he didn’t think anyone else felt the guy was trustworthy. “I think you need to re-think this, man. As for Jace, I suggest you not mention to Alec that you saw him and didn’t take him out of the picture. He might not find you in such high favor anymore.”

Ron just shrugged. “When this is all said and done, I won’t give a shit about what he thinks of me. Hopefully, he’ll be locked up for the next several decades.” Sitting forward with an intent look on his face, he continued, “We need Jace. I’m going to follow up on this sister of his, find out if she’s staying at a hotel around here or something. That’s the fastest way to find him, I think. And once we find him, we’ll have Alec by the balls.”

As Ron moved away from the table, Donnie reached discreetly into his pocket and sent a text to Jace. He wasn’t sure his friend would get it, but he had to try. Donnie had a distinct impression that the woman he was claiming to be his sister was actually a certain nurse who had seemed particularly concerned with Jace’s well being. Luckily, there was no reason for anyone to connect them or to be able to find her, but that didn’t mean the information wouldn’t accidentally come to light. He had to warn his friend and see if he couldn’t help him figure a way out of the hell he was in.

* * *

A
lec answered his phone with a growl, his eyes having just followed Ron out of the bar. “What’s going on?”

“I’ve got a lead on Jace, but you got trouble. The crew...you can’t trust them. I’m pretty sure they want you out, Alec. They’re loyal to Jace.”

It was pretty much exactly what Alec had expected. He could see the lines being drawn in his club, and he didn’t like it. The sooner he had Dawson’s head on a platter, the sooner he could take care of those who weren’t loyal and rebuild his club. How dare they turn on him, question his orders? With all the money he’d brought into the club, they should be singing his praises, not looking to cut his throat the first time they got the chance.

“Follow the lead, Ron. If you find him, kill him, or bring him to me so I can have the satisfaction of doing it myself.”

Jace had been his best friend, but as he hung up the phone, all he could think about was betrayal. It didn’t matter whether Jace disagreed with Alec’s decisions or the direction that the club was taking. He should have remained loyal. Now all Alec wanted was to see him dead.

He growled, slamming the phone down and reaching out to Patty, pulling her into his embrace. She smiled up at him curiously. “What’s going on, Alec, baby?”

He took a deep breath, trying to bury his anger and concentrate on the woman in front of him. “I was just thinking about our dream house in Italy. I just need one more month, Patty. I need one more month, and we’ll be on our way. And I’m putting a ring on that finger of yours.”

She blinked at him in disbelief. “But Alec, I thought you said you never wanted to get married. Don’t toy with me like that.”

“I’m not toying with you, Patty. You’re the only person I can really trust. Besides, what’s the difference between what we have now and signing a damn piece of paper? It just proves that I appreciate what you are to me, right?” He gripped her shoulders and kissed her hard on the mouth. “Once I finish this deal, I’m going to take us away from all of this.”

Patty laughed. “I think that sounds amazing, baby.”

Patty leaned in for another kiss, her lips brushing over Alec’s, leaving a red imprint behind with her bright lipstick.

* * *

C
arrie looked up from her seat at the nurses’ station and smiled pleasantly at the good-looking Latino standing in front of the desk. “Good afternoon, sir. How can I help you?”

Alvarez gave her a charming grin in return and pulled out his badge. “I’m with the Dallas Police Department. My name is Detective Tomas, and I just have a few questions for you about a patient who was here a little less than a week ago.”

Carrie was intrigued and held up a finger to ask him to wait. Picking up the phone, she paged Tami, and the other nurse joined her momentarily. “Tami, this is a police officer. He wants to ask some questions so I thought I’d take a walk with him if you wouldn’t mind watching over things here.”

Looking like a deer caught in the headlights, Tami nodded. “Of course. I’ll be here if you need me.”

Standing and coming around the desk, Carrie offered him a smile. “I’m Carrie. Follow me and we’ll see what I might be able to do for you.” She led him down the hall to a private room. Closing the door so they could have some privacy, she perched on a desk and faced him, crossing her arms to push her breasts up higher on her chest.

“So, what do you need to know?”

Watching her and knowing exactly what she was after, Alvarez decided he would use it to his advantage. “You admitted a patient here. Jace Dawson. He was a gunshot victim.” She nodded. “See? I knew you were my woman.” He inched closer, watching her preen. “So when did he check out of here?”

She narrowed her eyes as she answered. ”You know, it was pretty strange. Several people were in and out of the room, and then before the doctor even came in to see him, he insisted on signing himself out. I didn’t even see him leave, he was out of here so fast.”

Alvarez nodded. That had to have been almost right after he and Hargrove left.

“Okay, there was a nurse in there when I came to see him. She asked us all to leave and give him some time to recover. I had planned to see him the following day, but he was already gone. Would she happen to know anything about his whereabouts?”

Carrie laughed. “It’s extremely doubtful. You know, it would be good for Piper to do something a little exciting like run off with a biker. She’s the most upstanding, least adventurous woman I know, and I have a lot of respect for her. But pardon my language, she needs to get laid. She never even dates. And I know she had to have been attracted to your boy. He really was something to look at, even if he wasn’t exactly my type.” She raked a glance over him suggestively.

Alvarez nodded with a grin. “I see. So, Piper...you really don’t think she had anything to do with his release?”

“Oh, gosh no. Piper’s too much of a good girl to help a biker escape from the hospital.”

Alvarez nodded. “I see. ”

Carrie stood. “Listen, I’m supposed to work tonight, but I can be out of here by eight if you wanted to get a drink.”

Alvarez smiled at her. “I’d love to, but I’m really busy with a case. Why don’t you take my card and give me a call in a couple of days, or if you think of anything else unusual about that day you might want to share with me? And you can also let me know when your friend Piper is back at work so I can ask her a few questions.”

Looking disappointed but lighting up as she took his card, she gave him a suspicious look. “Piper’s not in any sort of trouble, is she? I wouldn’t want her to get caught up in all this when she’s got nothing to do with any of it.”

“No, no, not at all. It’s just that, as far as we know right now, she was the last person to talk to a key witness in an important case, and she may have some sort of idea where he is.”

He thanked her and left. It was time to head down to the administrative office and get information on where he could find this Piper. If he could get her name and address, he was willing to bet he could easily track down Jace Dawson. Somehow, he’d talked an innocent woman into harboring a criminal, which meant he was smarter than they had counted on him being. And when he found his target, he’d talk to Hargrove so they could bring the man in, make the deal with the ATF, and take the credit. This was going to be his big break, his chance to get in with the FBI, and he’d do whatever it took to make sure it happened.

Chapter Twelve

P
iper watched Jace with growing trepidation. After they’d finished eating, he’d insisted they go by the hospital and get his bike. He’d ridden back to her place in a fury, and as soon as she’d opened the door, he’d started packing his bag. It wasn’t taking long, and Piper’s fear grew. Whether it stemmed from concern for his well-being or from the idea that he might disappear and she would never see him again, she didn’t know.

BOOK: Riding Danger (BBW Biker Romance)
6.14Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

Other books

My Big Bottom Blessing by Teasi Cannon
Anywhere But Here by Mona Simpson
Autumn Falls by Bella Thorne
The Shattered Sylph by L. J. McDonald
The Great Christmas Breakup by Geraldine Fonteroy